


Within Hogwarts

by LuckyStarship, MikeWritesThings (orphan_account)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Human, Character Death, Depression, Growing Up Together, Multi, Pottertalia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 03:38:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6357415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyStarship/pseuds/LuckyStarship, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/MikeWritesThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lars Anderssen is a half-blood who is going to Hogwarts, where he meets Vlad Popescu, Matthias Kolher, and many more people who would become his friends.</p><p>(Eventual NedPort, some NedDen, really just centered around growing up within Hogwarts)</p><p>(I suck at summaries it's good I promise</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Year One

**Author's Note:**

> A Hetalia/Potter AU, in which Voldemort was defeated, though Dumbledore and Snape are still alive. Because I am too lazy and uncreative to create two new characters to be the Headmaster/Headmistress and Potions Professor. The D.A.D.A is just an insert of yours truly. Because Im uncreative hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
> 
> get prepared for the eventual gay

When he was seven, Lars became aware of the fact that he was not the only boy in his village who showed signs of magic.

His mother was a witch, but his father, a Muggle. He had a younger sister and a brother, and as far as Lars knew, they were the only magical beings for miles around.

But, it was the day he saw two boys rocket into the air instead of plummeting to the ground when they slipped off a tree branch high up in the sky did he realize that they must have been magical, too.

Antonio and Alfonso were brothers--Alfonso was eight and Antonio, nine. Their parents had moved around a lot--Antonio was born in Spain, Alfonso, Portugal, and they had moved to Italy, France, and Ireland before finally settling in Britain.

“But this means we’re goin’ to Hogwarts,” Antonio told Lars, who back then still wore his hair down so it brushed a bit over his eyes, “And our papa says it’s the best magical school in the world.”

Lars knew of Hogwarts, but not so much about it. 

“Where is Hogwarts?” He asked, and the brothers shook their heads. They didn’t know, but they were much more interested in discussing different things with him now that they knew of him.

“Ever been to a Quidditch game?” Alfonso asked Lars and Bella, who had been keen to following Lars around a lot of the time. The siblings shook their heads, having heard of the sport, but never having watched or played it.

“What about ridden a broom?” Once again, the siblings shook their heads.

Alfonso and Antonio exchanged almost horrified  looks before rushing away and returning with two ancient-looking broomsticks clutched in their hands, smiles splitting their faces.

“They’re just Cleansweep Fives, but they’ll do,” Antonio said, kicking off his shoes and hopping onto the broom. He flew low over the yard, toes skimming the grass and hair being blown back a bit by the breeze. He came to a rest next to Bella and got down, handing it to her.

“You try!”

Though Bella was rather tall for a six year old, her toes were still inches above the ground when she finally settled onto the old broomstick. It had to be decades old, and not very good at keeping in a straight line, but Bella still managed to ride it just fine. When she hopped off, she gave Lars a smile and pointed at it.

“Big brother, why don’t you ride?”

Lars timidly stepped forward, eyeing the broom wearily. Anything that flew, he had always been cautious of. He mounted the broom, his toes hovering an inch from the ground, his safe haven, and his stomach gave a lurch.

Sitting on the broom was extremely uncomfortable. His legs were straddling a thin piece of wood and his knees and thighs were pressed together tightly to keep from sliding off. He felt as if leaning forward on the broom would cause him to tip right over, so gripping the shaft tightly, Lars willed it to go forward or back, to do  _ something _ . The broom drifted forward lazily, and Lars fell right off it.

“Well, maybe you’re just not meant to ride a broom,” Alfonso said, already slinging a leg over his broom, but there was a shriek and the brothers’ faces drained of color as they looked up. Mrs. Carriedo was rushing out of the house angrily, brandishing a wand threateningly.

“ _IN BROAD DAYLIGHT! A MUGGLE_ _COULD SEE YOU AT ANY TIME!_ ”

“We’re sorry, mama!” Antonio howled as she gripped them both tightly by their forearms, dragging both the brothers and the brooms back inside the house. 

When Lars was nine, Antonio went to Hogwarts before them, and when he came back, he acted rather smug.

“I know all sorts of spells, amigos,” He said happily, caressing his turtle gently and told them a few of them, but by the end of the day they had completely slipped from Lars’s mind, as Eliot had made his birthday cake explode, and this was the first time he’d truly shown a sign of magic. He went to bed, jealous that Antonio and Alfonso would be going to Hogwarts before him. 

But that night, a few pebbles hit his window, and he knew it must have been Alfonso or Antonio, because because that’s how they got one another’s attention.

Slipping out of bed, Lars stared blearily down at the ground below, rubbing at one eye, dressed only in an overlarge shirt.

“Lars!” Alfonso said, standing up on tiptoe, curly hair barely brushing his shoulders. He had been trying to grow it out, he said, but both Antonio and Bella thought it looked ridiculous. Lars rather liked it like that. 

“What?” Lars called sleepily, and Alfonso waved his arms in a wide arc, trying to get Lars to come down. With a sigh, Lars opened his window, leaning out and shifting his legs over the sill, before dropping down to the ground. The drop probably would have hurt a Muggle, but it felt like he had floated down rather than fallen. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Alfonso grabbed his wrist and dragged him across the yard to a brush of bushes, which grew all over the place and they could never keep them trimmed.It was a good hiding space.

Ducking through a small space Lars, Antonio, Alfonso and Bella had made two years ago, the two boys sat down, side by side, and Alfonso held out his hand, willing Lars to look at it.

Sitting on his palm were the petals of a tulip, which happened to be Lars’s favorite flower. The petals looked soft and were a bright pink, a little bent from being clenched in Alfonso’s palm.

“Look,” Alfonso whispered, and a look of concentration fell upon his face. Lars studied the petals intently, before his eyes widened as they drew together slowly, forming the flower good as new, stem and all. Alfonso’s fingers caressed it gently, and he brought it up to his face, studying it. 

“How’d you do it?” Lars asked, looking up at Alfonso. He shrugged, still grinning at the flower.

“I saw ‘em, and then I thought of you and how much you liked them, and then it happened! Crazy, right?”

Alfonso dropped the tulip into Lars’s lap, eyes gleaming bright in the moonlight. It was a warm summer’s night, and small beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. Lars became aware of his hot his face was, sitting out here in the mucky summer evening, in a small space.

“I’m going to Hogwarts this year,” Alfonso said, and though his voice was quiet, it was quivering with excitement, “And then you’re gonna go to Hogwarts next year--and then the three of us can all be together again!”

“What House do you want to be in?” Lars asked Alfonso, who thought about the question for a few moments, before smiling once again, though there was a serious look in his eyes.

“Hufflepuff with Antonio, or maybe Gryffindor. But mom and dad were both in Slytherin, so I might go there!” Alfonso cocked his head to the side curiously, “What House do you want to be in?”

“I don’t care,” Lars said honestly, “Whatever House Bella and Eliot end up in.”

“Those could be two different Houses,” Alfonso pointed out.

“Then whatever House Eliot ends up in. Bella can take care of herself pretty good.” Lars’s eyes widened in surprised as Alfonso punched his shoulder lightly.

“Hey stupid, I’m asking  _ you _ , on your  _ own _ , as a single  _ person _ , what House  _ you _ want to be in.”

Silence fell upon them, the older boy looking expectantly at the younger, and Lars didn’t know how to answer the question, because he didn’t know what House he wanted to be in, or what he wanted to do. He didn’t know.

Alfonso evidently realized this, because he gave a sigh and stood up, head brushing the top of the uppermost layer of branches of the bush they were inside. The roomy space could’ve fit two more people.

“I promise when I go to Hogwarts, I’ll write to ya,” Alfonso said as they crawled out of their hiding space, the moon still bright in the sky. It had to be just after midnight.

“Okay,” Lars said.

“And I want you to write back.”

“Okay.”

“And I’m going to let you keep my broom.”

“Okay.”

Alfonso smiled at Lars before ruffling the top of his head. Lars’s shoulders drew up to his ears in annoyance, and he walked back to his house while Alfonso climbed the hill to his own. Lars went to bed that night thinking about Houses and Quidditch.

* * *

When Alfonso went to Hogwarts with Antonio, promising to eventually send them a letter, Lars felt strangely hollow and Bella cried, clutching eight year old Eliot’s hand, who was crying not because he was sad, but because Bella was crying, and when she was crying, he cried too. 

A year ago, Alfonso and Lars and Bella had all been able to sit together, joking about whatever Antonio might be doing at Hogwarts, being jealous together about the magic he was learning and taking turns riding their broomsticks near the woods where hardly anybody else ventured. But now, it was just Lars and Bella and little Eliot, who barely understood what Hogwarts even was. The Muggle school they were attending seemed even more boring than usual, now that Lars had a good idea of what a magic school was, and his grades slipped from A’s to C’s as his interest in his academics plummeted. He kept absently waving his pencil and saying foolish words like ‘abracadabra’ and ‘jiggery pokery’, but those definitely weren’t spells of any kind, and he felt extremely embarrassed when a girl overheard him saying ‘squiggle wiggle’, so he stopped.

The year progressed very normally, which was boring, very boring, and Lars wondered how he had ever been able to do this before with the knowledge that a school of witchcraft and wizardry existed. 

Just before Christmas holiday, he received the letter that Alfonso promised he would eventually send--sitting in his bedroom with Bella and Eliot, absentmindedly coloring a map of the world, his head suddenly jerked up when there was a resounding crack, and there, pressed against the window, was a large brown owl. Tied to it’s leg was an envelope, with his own name written on it in a familiar print.

Throwing open his window, Lars intended to untie the envelope from the owl’s leg (somewhere in the back of his mind, he vaguely remembered Antonio telling him something about owls delivering letters instead of just using a phone, like his mother and father) but as soon as the window was open, the owl flew inside his room, causing Eliot to shriek in terror and Bella to leap up, accidentally knocking over a glass of orange juice onto the map Lars had been coloring.

When the owl settled on top of his dresser, Lars crossed the room, reaching a hand out, and the owl responded by sticking out it’s leg. Untying the letter proved to be a bit more difficult than he thought, but as soon as he did, the owl flew into the air and out the window again.

“Wait a minute!” Lars yowled, racing to the window and sticking his head out of it, glaring at the brown dot flying against the setting sun, “How am I supposed to send a letter back?!”

But the owl was already gone.

Opening the envelope and unfolding the letter, Lars allowed Bella to read it over his shoulder.

_Dear Lars_ _(and Bella too, because I know definitely you’ll read this somehow),_

_ I told you I’d write to you, didn’t I? I always keep true to my word, and you know that! But I have to borrow a school owl, since my cat obviously can’t fly, and no way Toni’s turtle can, either _

_ School is great. The hat considered putting me in Gryffindor, but in the end I’m in Hufflepuff. I like to think bravery and loyalty are alike, you know? I think my favorite class has gotta be Charms, which is a class where you learn how to make things do things. Like levitate. (I accidentally made Antonio’s rosary fly out the window but don’t tell him that okay). _

_ Least favorite class is EASILY Potions. The Professor is rude, and I hate his slimy guts. He plays favorites with his House, which is Slytherin, but I don’t know the full details, because we share Potions with the Ravenclaws, but he docked thirty points from me for punching a dude in the face even though he clearly hit me first, no matter how many people say he didn’t. _

_ Toni tried out for the Quidditch team, which is both sad and funny. Funny because he got completely schooled by everybody else there, and sad because now he won’t stop moping. _

_ The food is great, but I do miss mama’s spicy food. All the white people here have clearly never heard of peppers, which we both know I can’t live without. _

_ I’m pretty awkward at writing letters, and don’t know how to end this, so I’m just going to say bye. _

_ Bye. _

* * *

 

The rest of the year passed by slowly, Lars receiving only five letters--three from Alfonso and two from Antonio. Bella herself only got two, one from each brother respectively, and every time Lars looked at the letters, lined up next to each other, he felt a strange emptiness. Just a couple of more months before he, too, would be learning magic.

Around May, his mother sat him down and told him that soon he would be receiving his school list, and they would be going to Diagon Alley (which Lars had only ever visited three times, all very memorable) by Floo Powder (which he has used about five times, and hates it) and very soon, he would start becoming a true wizard.

“We’re going to get you an animal, too,” His father butted in, already filled in on the standard school requirements by his wife, “What do you want?”

“A rabbit,” Lars said at once. His mother pursed her lips, wispy blonde hair pulled back and showing the  lines on her forehead clearly.

“We’d have to write to the headmaster asking if that’s allowed. You’re only allowed an owl, a cat, or a toad, but exceptions have been made,” She looked worried, gray eyes looking even more pronounced due to the worry lines around her eyes as well.

“I’m sure he’ll allow it,” Lars said, thinking of Antonio’s turtle.

Bella had taken to riding both of the brothers’s brooms, zooming around their small, secluded section of the woods as Lars watched, usually with a book at his side. Eliot often accompanied them, and Bella even let him ride a broom a few times, though Eliot had just as much success as Lars had.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to do it!” Bella said encouragingly to Eliot, who looked close to tears after he fell off his broom for the eighth or ninth time in a row, “You just gotta balance yourself, okay?”

“I’m trying,” Eliot said, his voice cracking, “But it’s super hard!”

He mounted the broom and it overed a few inches in the air. Eliot suddenly tilted sideways, and on instinct, Lars’s hands shot out and gripped Eliot from underneath his arms, steadying his little brother on the broom carefully.

“Thank you, big bro,” Eliot beamed at him, and lars watched as Eliot shot across the clearing before suddenly falling over, and wailing as his head hit the ground rather painfully, though thankfully he was okay.

When Alfonso and Antonio returned from Hogwarts, both definitely much taller than they had been when they had left (Lars’s head barely brushed the bottom of Alfonso’s chin and didn’t even come close to touching Antonio’s, and he surely wasn’t  _ that _ short, was he?) and with them, they brought a different feeling. Alfonso was no longer just as clueless as Lars was about what Antonio might be learning at school, but now he seemed to flaunt the knowledge, grinning at Lars’s blank looks and Bella’s questions.

Mrs. and Mr. Carriedo held a small party with Lars’s parents, who were friendly with one another, celebrating their return, with a cake and the peppers the brothers missed. Alfonso kept trying to catch Lars’s eye, but they were always interrupted before either of them could say or do anything

“You never wrote me back,” Alfonso said when he and Lars were finally alone together, sitting side-by-side in the space inside the bushes. There were a few books here, hidden cleverly among the branches that Lars had stashed here over the school year, hidden from anyone who might have happened to stumble upon their hiding spot. Though a decent amount of sunlight and moonlight had filtered through the branches the year before, it seemed that they had grown thicker, because only broken shafts of light shone down on them now.

“We don’t have an owl,” Lars replied, looking up at the older boy, “Ma says they’ll attract attention if we use one.”

“Figures,” Alfonso muttered, “Your mother is the most unwitchy-witch I’ve ever met.”

“She works in the Ministry, you know,” Lars said, unable to help the annoyance he felt at this comment about his mother, “International Magical Office of Law, and she comes home tired a lot.”

“My mama works there too, and she’s not anything like that,” Alfonso pointed out. Lars cast a glare at the darker-skinned boy, feeling anger towards him.

“She’s very frail, my dad says,” Lars mumbled, feeling as if Alfonso was judging him with his piercing green gaze, “Cut her some slack, will you? She has three kids and a Muggle for a husband.”

“Is your dad that bad?” Alfonso raised an eyebrow, settling his arms on his knees, “Where does he work, anyways? Or is he just that? A Muggle for a husband?”

“He’s not bad at all, it’s just that not both of my parents can wave a wand and make their problems disappear,” Lars shot back, feeling his neck and ears growing hot, “Where does  _ your  _ dad work?”

“Floo Network Authority,” Alfonso puffed his chest out proudly, and Lars felt the growing need to punch him in the face, which surprised him. He rarely ever felt violent or angry like this, but for some reason, he seemed extremely on edge today. Perhaps it was the anticipation he was feeling about finally being able to attend Hogwarts?

Standing up abruptly, Lars bade his friend goodbye and stomped away, heading towards his house, which his mother was no doubt sitting in the kitchen with tea, feeling stressed from all the excitement that was going on today.

* * *

Willow and unicorn tail hair, twelve and three quarters inches, surprisingly bendy. He had repeated these words so many times in his head that Lars felt they must be etched into his skull forever, now. All his school supplies were packed away neatly into his father’s old trunk, spellbooks arranged in alphabetical order and his robes folded to near perfection. But here he was, sitting on his front porch and staring at a rabbit.

His name was Miffy, which Bella and Alfonso and Antonio all found highly amusing, and he had spent the whole day locked in his room refusing to talk to any of them. It was a cute little baby, mostly white, though with a few orang-ish brown patches, extremely fluffy. It seemed to be completely made of fluff. Lars wondered how it could even function, but who cared, because it was cute.

Bella sat down on the porch next to him, wearing a green blouse and shorts, which she seemed to wear all the time, and her hair lay in curls at her shoulders. She had been looking rather upset the past few days,  but Lars had no idea why. Not that he hadn’t tried. He had made her an entire cake yesterday to try to get her to say what was wrong, but he accidentally dropped the cake while bringing it to her room, so he had to clean it quickly and pretend it had never happened.

“I”m sad,” Bella sighed, looking at him with green eyes full of sorrow, “I have to wait an entire year before going to Hogwarts.”

Lars reached over and awkwardly patted her arm, unsure of what to say or how to comfort her, but he apparently didn’t need to say anything, because Bella brightened up at once.

“But I can wait one more year and keep practicing with Alfonso and Antonio’s brooms! Maybe I can try out for Quidditch when I start Hogwarts!”

“I bet you’d be a good Chaser,” Lars said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

“No, I was thinking of being a Beater,” Bella said, and Lars hummed in agreement, because he didn’t have the heart to tell her that Antonio told him that Beaters were almost always men, but at that moment Eliot walked outside to join them, nestling himself comfortably between his big brother and sister.

“You’re going to Hogwarts this year!” He said cheerfully, gripping his brother’s forearm tightly with a bright look in his eye, “Good luck, brother! Promise you will  write back to us?”

Smiling, Lars wrapped an arm around his little brother’s waist, and Bella did the same.

“I promise,” He said.

~~~~~~

The ride to Hogwarts had been extremely long, Lars felt, and when the castle he had dreamed about for so long appeared in the distance, it took all the self control he had to prevent himself from jumping to his feet and doing a dance.

Hogwarts was beautiful and even bigger than he imagined, and Alfonso was pointing out the different towers to him while Antonio tried to talk over him, telling him that the staircases sometimes went somewhere different on certain days, and in the end, Lars barely heard half of any of it.

The Great Hall was, well...Great. The stars on the ceiling could be clearly reflected in his eyes, showing his amazement, because everything Antonio and Alfonso said didn’t do the Great Hall justice. The floating candles shone on each student’s face, where they sat at long table laden with silver platters that were currently empty of food, and Lars realized that he felt extremely small compared to everything else.

The Sorting began after the hat sang a song, which Lars didn't listen to, because he was too busy studying the hall and all the teachers sitting at the High Table, recognizing a few of them from what the brothers had told him--tiny Professor Flitwick, and the teacher with sallow skin and curtain-like hair framing his face was Snape, and the large, hairy man was the Care of Magical Creatures Professor and gamekeeper, Hagrid.

If what the brothers told him was correct, the list of students that were to be called forward was in alphabetical order, which meant--

“Anderssen, Lars.”

\--he would most likely be one of the first.

Stepping forward, Lars focused very hard on walking to the stool without tripping over the hem of his robes or looking stupid, because he felt every eye in the Great Hall watching him, and he suddenly became very aware of how long and shaggy his hair was getting.

The stern-looking which named Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat upon his head, and it fell over his eyes, and it probably would have gone over his entire face, if his nose (which was a bit perkier than average) stopped it.

“What do we have here?” A voice said in his ear, causing him to jump in surprise, nearly slipping off the stool. He hadn’t been expecting to hear a voice, and even if he had been, certainly not as rather snide-sounding this one was.

“I see great potential for Slytherin...Cunning and great resourcefulness. Yet, I also see hard work and dedication, wit and patience...But the question is not what I see, but where you belong…”

Lars didn’t really care where he was placed, because he just wanted the hat to hurry up and get it over with, because the voice talking in his ear was rather creepy and he can still feel every eye in the Hall watching him. Hands clenching the sides of the stool, Lars pictured himself with Antonio and Alfonso, the only two people he knew in this entire school, and he suddenly felt a bit better. In a sea of shining pale faces, they stood out not only because of their darker skin tone, but because they were so familiar to him.

He had been so lost in his thoughts and feelings of brief familiarity that he didn’t hear the rest of what the Hat muttered in his ear, but what he shouted to the Great Hall--

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

The Hat was taken off Lars’s head and he blinked at the sudden light--he hadn’t realized how dark it had been with the hat covering his eyes. Getting to his feet shakily, he wondered which table he was supposed to sit at, because they were all applauding him, and he didn't want to look stupid and accidentally sit at the wrong table, so the first thing he did was look for Antonio and Alfonso.

He spotted them at one of the inner tables, not on the far sides of the room, but more to the center, sitting side by side, wearing matching yellow and black scarves, beaming up at him. Stepping aside so ‘Bondevik, Lukas’ could take his seat, Lars headed towards the table to sit himself right next to Alfonso, who was, thankfully, sitting at the end of the table and he didn’t have to walk very far to reach him.

“How ya feelin’?” Antonio asked, leaning over Alfonso to smile at him.

“Like I’m going to throw up,” Lars said honestly, combing his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it, “When are we going to-?”   
“Shh,” Alfonso interrupted, eyeing the stool, “I like watching the Sorting.”

Lars turned his head so he too, was watching Lukas Bondevik with the hat being placed over his head. The hat went almost entirely over his face, and it sat there for a few moments, no doubt muttering in Lukas’s ear, just as it had done to Lars. The brim of the hat (the mouth, Lars reminded himself) opened wide and shouted, “SLYTHERIN!” to the waiting Hall, which caused the table to the far side to explode with cheers.

“Aww, look at Matthias,” Alfonso said, looking at another table, and Lars turned his head to see who Alfonso was looking at--A boy with seemingly gravity-defying blond hair and a red and gold tie, which meant, Lars thought, he must be a Gryffindor.

“Who’s he?”

“He’s in my year, and he wouldn’t shut up about his ‘bestest friend forever’ coming to school,” Antonio said, pity written on his face, “But Lukas got placed in a different House, so…”

“They still would be able to see each other, though, wouldn’t they?” Lars asked, thinking at once of Bella and Eliot and what would happen if they were placed in different Houses.

“It’d be hard enough to see one another if you’re in different years, but different Houses as well?” Alfonso shook his head, but brought his hands together to clap as ‘Braginsky, Ivan’ was placed in Hufflepuff.

Lars scooted over to allow the boy room, but he sat down on the farthest end of the table, ignoring the open space next to Lars.

The sorting passed by rather slowly (or maybe he was just really hungry) but finally, it was over, and the Great Hall settled into silence when an old man Lars could only assume was the Headmaster got to his feet.

“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!” He said rather merrily, and Lars took note that his hair was very long, as was his beard, “I have a few words I’d like to say, but why don’t we wait until after the feast?”   
And he sat down, and Lars looked at the silver platters expectantly, and what the brothers told him had been true--the food had appeared suddenly and magically.  

“White people food,” Alfonso hummed, already piling roast potatoes and pork chops onto his plate, “Still bland as hell.”

“I think it tastes alright,” Lars mumbled after taking a slow bite of a thick piece of steak, eyes focused on one of the pearly-white figures floating around the Hall, no doubt ghosts. Alfonso watched them as well, before pointing at the ghost of a fat little monk.

“Fat Friar, he’s the Hufflepuff ghost,” He said, and the Fat Friar gave a merry little wave, “Really friendly, he’d be glad to answer all your questions and stuff.”

“I don’t…” Lars’s sentence trailed off into silence and he took another bite of steak, not being able to clearly word the thought of how strange it would be to ask a dead floating person a question and have them answer as though they were alive. He couldn’t be the only person bothered by that, could he? Dead people were supposed to stay dead, right?

“What are you taking this year, Toni?” Alfonso suddenly asked his brother, elbowing his side.

“Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Studies,” Antonio said rather bracingly, “Because Divination is stupid and Arithmancy is a nope.”

“Ancient Runes, though.”

“Also a nope.”

“I want to take Muggle Studies,” Alfonso said, staring off into the distance with a faraway look in his eyes, “It’d be interesting.”

“Why are you taking Muggle Studies? I’m half a Muggle, and you know how we live enough,” Lars frowned.

“Yes, but, well, your ma is still a witch, isn’t she? You still got magic and listen to our radio and stuff...Go to Diagon Alley and fly on brooms. Muggles are different, you see?”

“Okay, fine,” Lars said, though he still didn’t really understand why Alfonso would want to take Muggle Studies.

* * *

The year passed by quite easily after Lars got into the way of things. The Hufflepuff common room was comfortable and an ideal place to talk to Alfonso and Antonio, both who gave him their opinions on other students.

“Yao Wang, he’s prefect, along with Jessica Logan, both fairly strict,” Antonio said, “Arthur Kirkland is in Slytherin, my year, and watch out for him, he’s strange. Not too bad for a Slytherin, but whatever. Francis Bonnefoy is a prefect in Ravenclaw and they  _ hate _ each other, so don’t cross paths with them if they’re arguing.”

“Tino Va--I can’t say his name. He’s in Ravenclaw,  my year, he’ll help you out with Charms, he’s pretty good at that,” Alfonso said, pointing out a blond boy in the library one evening, “No matter what house you’re in. He’s friendly. Though he’s always being tailed by Berwald Oxen...Oxensteer...Oxensta….You know what? Forget it.”

The first month of school, Lars went without really making friends of any sort, keeping himself in a strict schedule. Classes, do homework during breaks and finish in the evening. He had to constantly remind himself to eat meals, and if he didn’t, either Antonio or Alfonso would bring him food while he sat in the common room, reading books or doing homework.

His favorite class was probably Herbology, probably because it was one of the easiest and didn’t require as much thinking as he used on a daily basis--though it did require a lot of concentration when dealing with a potentially venomous tentacle plant. 

“What you want to do with them is--” Professor Longbottom placed a gloved hand on top of the plant, forcing it down and temporarily rendering it paralyzed, “Is snip off the tips of their tentacles, see? Then they are unable to attack you, and you can extract the sap quite easily!”

This proved to be very easy, but he had to fight a tentacle off his arm when he got distracted by watching a fellow Hufflepuff boy, Vlad Popescu, pretend to be a tentacle monster to amuse his Slytherin friend, Nikolaj. 

History of Magic was ultimately boring. Lars usually took notes the first five minutes, but by the end of the class, always ended up with his head pressed against the desk asleep with his face pressed against his own puddle of drool (which was actually quite disgusting).

Potions wasn’t as bad as Alfonso made it out to be, Lars thought--sure, the teacher could be unpleasant, but it wasn’t too difficult (but thank god he managed to keep his lunch down and not puke into his cauldron that one time, because that would have been a disaster). He got all his homework back with A’s on them, which, while he understood wasn’t the greatest, was still a passing grade.

Evenings were usually spent alone, until intrude upon by the Carriedo brothers, but even then, they had other friends to tend and talk to, so he was more often alone than in their presence.

Until, of course, something changed it all entirely.

It was one of those evenings where he was struggling over Transfiguration homework (quite possibly, his worst subject), sucking a quill between his teeth (probably not a good idea, but whatever) when he was suddenly interrupted by someone plopping down on the floor next to him.

Looking up in surprise, pale green eyes met pale red (pink?) and he was facing Vlad Popescu, a boy who he sometimes found quite amusing, but never spoke to much. He had strawberry-colored hair and an extremely pale face, making Lars wonder if he was either a vampire or an albino.

“Hello there, loser,” Vlad said, closing Lars’s Transfiguration book (which he himself was about to do out of frustration, to be honest) and scooted closer to him, grinning.

“Um. Hello,” Lars said, taking the quill out of his mouth and giving the albino a perplexed stare. Vlad took a deep breath as if he were about to launch into a long-winded explanation, and said,

“You’re always alone, and it’s the first week of school, so why not, man? You look like you need a friend, and not just the Carriedo Catastrophes-”   
Lars snorted at this, but Vlad continued as if it hadn’t happened.

“--and I’m open to having more friends, and Ivan and Lukas are pretty chill and so’s Nik-Nik, but you look like you need a hug a lot of the time, so this is why I decided that we’re going to be friends.”

“Uhhh,” Lars blinked in response, and Vlad scooted closer to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and giving him a devilishly cheeky smile.

His name was Vladimir Popescu, he was a Muggle-born, he liked icecream and his favorite flavor (of anything) was strawberry, he was born in Romania but for the most part, grew up in northern Britain, wanted to work with the Department of Mysteries for the Ministry one day, had a brother, his best friend ever was Nikolaj Petrov whom he’s only known for two years, and his favorite Quidditch team was of course, the Romanian one, and he wanted to have a Yajirushi broomstick, but since those were Japanese that meant they would be much more expensive.

Lars learned all of this within five minutes due to the fact that Vlad could talk extremely fast and cover multiple points in a short period of time. As soon as he finished talking about the fine handle of the Yajirushi broomstick, he got to his feet, said goodnight, and was already walking down the tunnel that led to their dormitory.

Lars was left speechless and shocked, and sat there for a few moments, not quite sure what to do. So he did the most logical and reasonable thing he did every evening--do homework and try not to think about anything else.

But Vlad soon became a part of Lars’s regular schedule, little by little. At first, it was just sitting with him about five to ten minutes each evening, telling Lars about himself, which Lars was okay with, letting Vlad do all the talking and he, all the working. Then, sometimes, Vlad began choosing Lars as his partner to practice with when it came to classes. Vlad (still along with Antonio and Alfonso) would continually remind him to eat when he forgot to and sometimes, Vlad even fed Miffy.

One evening, Vlad wasn’t there to talk to him, and Lars felt strangely hollow, as if something important was missing, but felt a bit better when Vlad passed by him later to say ‘good night.’ Perhaps he was getting used to him. He wasn’t bad company, after all.

 After three weeks of knowing Vlad, Lars finally managed to emerge from his secluded shell and tell Vlad a bit about himself. Just that he had two siblings, was born in the Netherlands, liked rabbits, tulips, and was a half-blood. It was nothing much, but Vlad seemed very happy.

“Improvement, Lars, improvement,” he said airily, checking over Lars’s Transfiguration homework (which had become such a regular thing, as Vlad was good at it whilst Lars was terrible) and Lars pet Miffy, still unsure of how the Romanian worked his way into his life like this so easily.

“Aww, look at wittle Lars, makin’ friends on his own,” A voice cooed teasingly from behind, and the first years looked up to see Alfonso standing there with a grin, having snuck up behind them.

“Hello,” Lars said dully, flicking blond strands of hair out of his eyes. It was getting seriously long now and he wondered if there was some sort of magical barber shop here or should he just seriously get a pair of scissors and snip all his hair off.

“Hello,” Vlad said brightly, setting Lars’s homework down. He had spots of ink on his nose and cheek.

“First Quidditch game could’ve gone better, couldn’t it?” Alfonso said as he settled himself down on the floor next to Lars, smiling.

“Could’ve, yeah,” Vlad said gloomily, “Another fifty points and we could’ve won…”

The very first match of the season had been Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw, which affected the moods of all the Hufflepuffs afterwards with their defeat. Lars himself didn’t feel so bad about it. He had hardly paid any attention to the game, and even left after about ten minutes. 

He wasn’t at all interested in sports.

“I’ve always been interested in playing,” Antonio said, appearing from nowhere and sitting next to his brother, “I tried out for Keeper again this year. But I didn’t get in. Again.”

“One day,” Alfonso said, patting his brother on his shoulder consolingly, but there was a smirk on his face even as he did it.

* * *

The Christmas holidays Lars spent back at home with Bella, Eliot, Antonio and Alfonso, and their families came together on Christmas evening to share a meal.

“You haven’t written to me all year, so far,” Bella sniffed, mushing her potatoes.

“Yeah, me neither!” Chirped Eliot from the other side of the table, who was sitting on about three thick books so he could reach his plate, though he seemed less saddened by this fact, as he said, “But that must mean big brother is busy and working hard! Which is good, right?”

“I...Er, I forgot,” Lars said honestly, though when he received the crushing looks of disappointment from his siblings, he vowed to never forget again.

“Should we cut your hair, dear?” His mother asked from next to Mrs. Carriedo, who had brought a spicy chicken to the meal, which had made Lars’s mouth burn so badly he choked. 

His blond hair had grown so that it was often in his eyes and brushing the collar of his robes, and constantly having to flick his locks out of his face.

Lars nodded eagerly, ready to rid himself of this godforsaken hair.

“Aww, but I liked it!  _ Vlad _ liked it!” Antonio said around a mouthful of food, earning a smack on the back of his from his father. Lars’s mother looked at him with an amused look.

“Who’s Vlad?”

Lars mumbled a few things that might’ve been words, might’ve not been, but whatever they were, they weren’t heard by his mother.

“Who?” She pressed, and his father looked at him with curiosity too. By now, Lars could feel his cheeks and ears reddening.

“His  _ best friend _ ,”  Alfonso said cheekily. Lars focused intently on his chicken, shoveling it into his mouth and causing his eyes to water in pain from the spiciness of it. His mother looked proud and his father, impressed.

“Made a friend on his own, did he?” He chortled, and Lars honestly felt like burying his own dead body deep under a field of tulips so he could never be seen again, “Vlad, you said his name was? Good for you, Lars!”

But this conversation, embarrassing though it may be,  brought a question to his mind-

_ Was  _ Vlad his best friend? He was a part of his everyday life, they worked on their schoolwork together and ate together a lot of the time, and he was a bit more open with Vlad than he was anyone else in his year. Friends?...Definitely…. But best friends…?

He went to bed, uncomfortable, and still thinking of Vlad and how he was probably back home for Christmas, spending time with the brother he always had so much to say about.

* * *

 

Lars woke up around midnight and lay awake for several minutes. The moon was shining bright and his room seemed rather empty for some reason, though it was the same as it always was.  Getting to his feet and avoiding the pile of presents already at the foot of his bed, the blond boy walked silently across the room and out into the hall. He checked in on Bella and Eliot (they shared a room) making sure they were both safe and sound asleep, before padding down the stairs. 

The house was silent, and his parents were both asleep, judging by the loud snores coming from their bedroom. The front door was unlocked, and he felt strangely content as he opened it and stepped outside. 

It was very cold outside, but he didn’t care. He often woke up in the middle of the night like this, and when he did, he usually went to their hiding spot. But at Hogwarts, he couldn’t do this, and the alternative was sitting on an armchair in the dark and empty common room.

It wasn’t the same.

Crawling through the tunnel hidden in the bushes, he settled himself comfortably into the small space that was hidden to the eye and known only to him, Bella, Eliot, Alfonso and Antonio.  Tucked away safely under several branches were his books--a large, lengthy novel about growing up, a picture book that he read to Bella over and over every day several years ago, a book full of romantic poems he had found in his mother’s room that looked untouched, and a book of animal facts that was no doubt planted there by Eliot. 

Balancing the book of romantic poems in his lap, Lars began reading them by the moonlight, a bit glad that the branches were nearly bare in the cold weather but could still keep him hidden.

He rather liked the romantic poems, he found, and it made his stomach do a little fluttery thing. Lars stayed there until the sun had risen, and he crawled back out from the hiding space.

Breakfast was loud and noisy. His mother had gone to work, but his father remained, cooking them all waffles and eggs, while Alfonso and Antonio (their parents had gone to work as well, and Lars thought it was sad they all had to work on holiday) raced around, parading in matching jumpers and even forcing one over he and Bella’s head (Eliot was wearing about three jumpers of his own, all from past Christmases).

“We wanted to open our presents here, is that okay?” Antonio asked Lars’s father, and he nodded, “Sweet! Gracias, amigo.”

“What do you think you got?” Alfonso asked, turning to look at Lars. He shrugged, fiddling with a loose thread on the hem of his jumper, which was three sizes too big for him and a rather ugly gray color. Bella approached him, and leaned around him, cutting up a piece of his untouched waffle, and forcing it to his lips.

“Eat!” She said scornfully, and Lars obliged, sliding his mouth over the piece of waffle and taking the fork in his own hand from Bella. Bella placed a hand on her hips, glaring at the Carriedo brothers.

“I hope you’re both making sure he’s eating!” She said, crossing her arms and scrutinizing them. They looked almost offended.

“‘Course we are, he’s got three different people reminding him to eat on a daily basis,” Alfonso said, eyeing Bella, “We ain’t gonna let him starve, Bel.”

“That’s good,” She nodded approvingly. Lars was reminded forcibly of Vlad and the attitude he took whenever he skipped a meal, Vlad not leaving him alone till he at least ate some potatoes and bread. 

They opened their presents at noon. Lars received a book of romantic poems (he had a feeling his mother knew where hers had disappeared to) a sweater with a rabbit on it (he hid his red face in it when the Carriedo brothers forced it over his head) ten Galleons from his father to buy whatever he liked, a handmade...something from Eliot (“I knew you would like it!” He said enthusiastically when Lars gave him a smile, not exactly sure what it was but appreciating the effort) and a vase Bella made herself.

“I know you like tulips and flowers and stuff, so you can put them in here!” Bella said, looking a bit worried, “You like it, don’t you? Or do you want me to repaint it a different color? I can paint it a different color, if you want--”   
But Lars silenced her with a hug, not very good at saying thank you, but she seemed to understand what he was trying to do, because she hugged him back.

He had given Eliot his untouched Gobstones set he got years ago, which made him smile with glee, and Lars got Bella a variety of ribbons that she swapped her headband for a red one instantly.

“Thank you, Big Brother!” They said after he had given them their presents., Eliot wrapping his arms around Lars’s middle and Bella patting his arm affectionately.

“Don’t mention it,” He murmured, face turning pink.

* * *

 

The exams of his first year are approaching fast, and now he’s not the only one studying all the time--everyone in his year could be seen with their noses pressed against their books, absorbing as much information as they could.

“I can’t do this,” Vlad moaned, face pressed against his half-finished History of Magic essay, looked quite dejected. 

Lars (now with shorter hair that he didn’t have to keep constantly flicking out of his eyes) himself was glaring at both his Potions and Transfiguration essay with a look of pain on his face. He didn’t want to write about the properties of an antidote to curing common poisons, and most certainly didn’t want to practice turning a tissue into a piece of parchment and vice versa.

“I think we can if we just try really, really hard,” Lars said in a hollow voice.

“How about we study with other people?” Vlad asked, picking his head off his essay and wiping spots of ink off his face, “We would probably get our work done a lot faster.”

“Who would we study with?” Lars asked skeptically, determined that if he had to study with anybody, it would be Vlad and Vlad only. He wasn’t prepared to meet anybody new yet.

“Nikolaj and Lukas,” Vlad said, staring outside the window where the blue sky seemed to be beckoning them, “Ivan, maybe.”

“I think we’re fine just the way we are,” Lars said. Vlad’s head whipped towards him, eyes wide. Then, before he knew it, the Romanian was fixing him with the puppy eyes that he found out not too long ago could talk him into anything.

“Stop it.”

Drawing his eyebrows together, Vlad cocked his head to the side, and fixed him with that puppy-dog stare.

“No. Vlad. Stop it.”

He jutted his lower lip out.

It was too much.

With a groan, Lars set down his quill and fixed Vlad with a glare, who had instantly jumped out of his seat with a smile on his face.

“Great!” He cheered, “I know just where to find ‘em! Come on!”

Sputtering slightly in protest, Lars was dragged from the cozy, nearly empty common room, gripping their essays tightly in his other hand, all the way to the library by Vlad, who was surprisingly very strong. Leading him over to a library table where two people were already sitting, Vlad plopped down on an unoccupied chair and beamed at them.

“Afternoon,” He said. The boys whom he was talking to looked strikingly different--one was darker, with dark brown, almost black hair and green eyes, while the other one was lighter, with pale blond hair and fair skin.

“Afternoon, Vlad,” The darker-haired boy said, looking up from his work. He, like Vlad, apparently had the habit of sucking the end of his quill, for he had just removed it from his mouth, eyes wide.

“Hey, Nikolaj!” Vlad said in a friendly voice, tugging his History of Magic essay from Lars’s hand, “You said if I ever wanted to study together, you’d be in the library in the afternoons, right?”

“Right,” Nikolaj said slowly, eyeing Lars. Lars shifted his weight onto his other foot awkwardly, clearing his throat. Both Slytherin boys seemed to be analyzing him, studying him, and it was rather unnerving. Vlad, sensing the tension, cleared his throat, looking from his friends to Lars.

“We wanted to study with you guys...Seeing as we seem unable to do so ourselves. Seriously, I think they’re trying to kill us.”

The blond boy pushed aside a few books to make room for Lars at the table, who sat down awkwardly, placing his Transfiguration and Potions homework on the table. The blond looked at it over his shoulder, before pointing at an entire paragraph and saying,

“That’s all wrong.”

Lars waited for him to elaborate, but apparently he wasn’t going to, because he slid Vlad’s half-finished essay towards him and began reading over it, eyebrows drawing together. 

Finally, Nikolaj set down his quill, turned to look at Vlad, and said,

“Who’s your friend? And aren’t you going to introduce us?”   
“Oh, uh,” Vlad said, snapping out of a reverie, “Lars, his name is Lars. Same House as me. He sort of sucks at Transfiguration, and you’re pretty good at it, aren’t you, Nikolaj?”

“Maybe I am,” Nikolaj said smoothly, eyeing Lars and flicking locks of brown hair out of his face, “What, you want us to be a study group?”

“Actually, I do,” Vlad said airily, tapping his fingers on the corner of Nikolaj’s essay, “Really, he’s got no friends.”   
“Excuse you, I have five friends,” Lars said, finding this statement extremely offensive.

“Your brother and sister don’t count, Lars.”

“Fine, three. But at least I’ve got  _ some _ friends.”

“Not enough,” Vlad flapped his hands rapidly, trying to get him to shut up, “The point is, we’re going to get nowhere if it’s just the two of us working together, because your strongest point is Herbology and mine is Charms, and besides that we really suck at everything.”

“Speak for yourself, I’m decent at Potions,” Lars looked down sadly at his essay, “It’s just really-”

“Oh, shut up and give me your essay,” Lukas’s voice cut through his, and the blond boy grabbed Lars’s essay with an air of annoyance. 

The rest of the ‘study session’ passed without much talking, but lars’s essay had been revised by Lukas to the point where Lars found it must be at least half decent, and Nikolaj helped him with his Transfiguration.

“It’s more of a wiggle, and not so much of a twirl,” Nikolaj said as he waved his wand, easily transforming his handkerchief into a piece of parchment, “Quite easy, see?”

“No,” Lars mumbled.

Vlad insisted, every day from then on until the exams, that he and Lars study with Lukas and Nikolaj. At first, lars hated it. They didn’t seem too warm with him, either, but after about a week or so, they became endearing to him.

Lukas to, liked that and being alone, and had a strange affinity with Charms and did things with his wand that Lars was sure definitely wasn’t first year level or even second or third.

Nikolaj was a hard worker and often put his schoolwork before anything else, and this is where he, Lukas, and Lars all found they had this in common, whilst Vlad was often longing for the outside air. Lars wouldn’t consider them friends, but people he could be around without feeling the need to either shove himself or them inside a wardrobe and never emerge again.

Three days before their very first exam, something different happened in on of their study sessions.

“No, Vlad, you can’t Transfigure your teeth,” Lukas said with the air of someone who was explaining to a child that the Earth revolved around the sun, “I’m sure when you get older, they’ll suit you mo-- _ Matthias, you idiot, I can see you! _ ”

All four of them looked up to see a tall boy of maybe thirteen standing there, half-concealed behind a bookshelf, wearing what looked like Quidditch robes, spiky blond hair sticking up in every direction.

“Afternoon, Lukas,” he said, giving a very wide smile. Lukas, however, did not return it. On the contrary, he looked very angry.

“You could at least be discreet about it! Stop stalking me everywhere you go!”

Matthias looked lost, as if he didn’t know how to react to Lukas’s anger. 

“Well, Tino said that you were always in the library around this time of day, and-”

“Oh, are you having Tino spying on me now?” Lukas flared at once, and despite the fact that he was about a foot shorter than Matthias and four inches shorter than Lars, Lars suddenly found Lukas to be quite terrifying as he glared at Matthias.

“No, I’m not!” Matthias said defensively, finally stepping out from behind the bookshelf, “Listen, Lukas, we’re still best friends, right?”

“And,” Matthias said quickly when Lukas opened his mouth angrily, “I haven’t gotten to see you at all this year, and I thought you might not want to be friends with me or Tino and Berwald anymore. We all feel like you’ve been avoiding us. It feels like you don’t like me anymore.”

“Communication is a two-way street, you could have approached me at any time,” Lukas suddenly seemed a lot calmer than before, “And Matthias, you idiot, of course I still like you, otherwise I would have jinxed you the moment I saw you. I'm busy, you know.”

“So am I!” Matthias held out his arms, showing off his Quidditch gear, “But I try!”

“Go away, Dane, I’m studying right now,” Lukas said, settling himself back into his seat, and although his tone was filled with annoyance, his face didn’t look quite so, “We can talk about this later.”

“Yay!” Matthias grinned, before giving the rest of them a glance, “A fun-looking study group you have.”

Vlad was balancing his quill underneath his nose and on top of his lip, Nikolaj had accidentally turned Lars’s hair a brilliant shade of purple and Nikolaj had ink splattered across his nose. They must have looked like fools.

Matthias let them, and Lukas looked down on exasperation at his homework, “Oh, that idiot.”

“Who’s he?” Lars asked, who was looking at the spot Matthias had been before.

“Gryffindor,” Lukas answered, “and, ‘my bestest best friend in the entire world’. I’ve known him since we were both very young. Him, Tino, and Berwald. We all live in the same village.”

“What position does he play?” Vlad asked, looking interested, swiping his quill from under his nose, “Quidditch-wise, I mean?”

“Chaser,” Lukas frowned, “Don’t you know?”

“I’ve only been to two Quidditch matches this year, and it’s mainly because of this guy,” Vad jabbed a thumb at Lars, who was desperately looking up sells in his book to return his hair back to it’s natural color, “Heck, i don’t even know who’s winning the league.”

“Ravenclaw,” Lukas said sourly, “Doesn’t help that Tino’s the Seeker, either. He and Matthias are always talking about their talent when it comes to Quidditch…I hope you kick their butts.” Lukas suddenly looked at Nikolaj.

“If I even make the team,” He scoffed.

“Mate, I’ve seen you fly, and you’re great,” Vlad said, before turning to look at Lars, “What about you?”

“I can’t even fly,” Lars said truthfully, “Neither can my brother. But my sister can fly pretty well.”

“What does she want to be, Chaser?” Vlad asked, “Or Seeker? Ivan says that’s the most common positions for girls.”

“Beater,” Lars said. Vlad shook his head

“Well, good luck with that,” He sighed, “Not trying to put down your sister’s skill, dude, but Beaters have always been rather heavier and stronger. Unless she’s built like Ivan, I don’t think she’d be able to make the team.”

“I’m sure she could,” Lars said sourly. Nobody would meet his eye after that.

The exams came, and they were probably going to eat Lars from the inside out. Used to vigorous testing in his old muggle school, he felt truly pained at the fact that he had to do a written exam, and then a practical one to pass. Herbology was fairly easy, Professor Longbottom giving him a thumbs-up when he finished his exam, and Potions was a bit harder, but he felt as if must have managed a passing grade. Transfiguration went much better than he had expected. He had, at least, managed to turn his handkerchief into a piece of parchment and made the beetle he was supposed to be turning into a button round and plastic-like, though it still scuttled across his desk rather nightmarishly. 

But by the end of the week, with exams over and done, Lars relaxed outside with everybody else, though a considerable way away from the lake, where mostly everyone else were dipping their toes in.

“They’re over,” Alfonso said as he patted Lars on the back, “Finally over, buddy.”

“Thank god,” it wasn’t Lars who responded, but Antonio, “It felt like a long year, didn't it?”

“Not really,” Alfonso said at the same time Lars said “Yes.”

The final day of term came with an end-of-the-year feast, and Vlad was in a frenzy.

“I can’t find half my clothes,” he said in a panicked voice, “or my books, either, and I’m sure that I-”

“Vlad,” Nikolaj looked up from the book he was reading, “Chill.”

“I can’t chill. The train leaves tomorrow and I don’t have any of my stuff,” Vlad turned to face Lars, “Do you know where they are?”

“No.”

By the end of the night, Vlad was in a mess. Lars watched him as he tore up their dormitory looking for his pants, Miffy gnawing on his finger as he did so. Around midnight, he got up to help him look for his stuff.

They departed when they got off the train together the very next day, both carrying an armful of Cauldron Cakes Lukas had bought for them.

“I made a lot more friends than I thought I would,” Vlad beamed at him, “Thanks for being my friend, Llars. Will you write to me?”

”I’ll try,” Lars promised, but was unable to say anything else as Bella had tackled him to the ground in a bone-crushing hug while Eliot hopped on top of her, laughing.


	2. Year Two

The summer before second year passed by normally. Bella got her wand, which she kept repeating over and over again (“I’ve got a wand! Alder, unicorn hair, fourteen inches, springy! It’s springy and made of Alder! I’ve got a wand!”) and Eliot was thoroughly jealous.

“I want a wand!” He told his mother angrily one night as she peeled potatoes by hand near the sink.

“You’ve got one more year to wait, Eliot,” she said tiredly, pausing to look down at her youngest child. Eliot refused to talk to her for a week after that, absolutely angry that he wasn’t going to Hogwarts, but Lars suspected that Eliot was hiding the fact that he would be truly alone when he and Bella departed for school.

Lars was keeping the promise he had made to Vlad and writing to him every couple of weeks, though they were considerably shorter than the long, action-packed ones Vlad sent him.

Bella had taken to stealing either Alfonso or Antonio’s brooms, flying lower over the small area they had secluded to themselves and swinging a baseball bat, imitating a Beater and having both Eliot and Lars throwing footballs as hard as they could at her. Lars didn’t want to tell her what Vlad had told him, so he just smiled every time she hit a ball and tried not to imagine the crushing look she’d get if he told her that it was mostly men who were Beaters.

Antonio, too, was working hard with his own broomstick. He often asked Alfonso or Lars to throw footballs at him as well, and each time he flew to the side to prevent the ball from hitting the cluster of trees he was guarding.

“Maybe I just need a new broom,” Antonio sighed as he looked down at his ancient one, “I could always ask Mama to get me one for my birthday.”

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t get you one, you’ve improved, and she already got me one,” Alfonso said warmly to his brother, his birthday having happened just before the end of term.

Eliot, too, was flying a lot, but much more poorly than Bella and Antonio.

“I can do it!” He huffed, getting to his feet after he had fallen from his broom, “Just watch, okay? I can do it!”

But, he couldn’t stay airborne for longer than thirty seconds. Perhaps it was because he was very small and skinny, despite the fact that he was about to turn ten in a couple of days time.

“If it makes you feel better, I can’t fly either,” Lars said consolingly to his brother, but Eliot only looked sadder.

“Yes, but, you’ve only flown, like twice. I’ve been practicing secretly at night all year, and I can’t manage much,” He said sadly, staring dejectedly down at the ground. He, like Lars, had blond hair, but he, unlike Lars, had it combed neatly.

“What do you mean you’ve been sneaking out?!” Lars asked, taking the straw he was chewing out of his mouth. Eliot puffed up his chest, looking quite proud of himself, a wide smile splitting across his face.

“I’ve been sneaking out at night just like you did! And I’m not getting caught, either, just like you!”

“You shouldn’t follow my example…” Lars scratched the back of his head, knowing that if Eliot was ever harmed during his late night wanderings, he would forever blame himself, “And how did you know I was always sneaking out?”

“You stick your head in Bella and me’s room every time you do, we were bound to notice one day,” Eliot stated as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, “Bella once wanted to follow you. But I talked her out of it. Said you were probably with Alfonso or somethin’.”

Lars tried to figure out the meaning beneath these words, but at that moment, Antonio and Alfonso rushed over, exclaiming that they had found a way to turn their mother’s hair blue.

On Eliot’s birthday, he and Bella were in the kitchen together, chopping tomatoes for dinner. Eliot had been jumping around excitedly all day, taking time to stop and tell each and every one of his family members that he greatly appreciated them, before disappearing off outside.

“Oh, I can’t wait to go to Hogwarts this year,” Bella said excitedly, looking at Lars as she diced tomatoes, “Is it any fun, Lars?”

“Uh...I guess,” Lars said, thinking back to all those afternoons spent looking at Chocolate Frog cards with Vlad, “It’s what you make of it.”

Scooping up all the tomatoes she had diced and placing them next to the lettuce, she looked down suddenly and said,

“Eliot! What are you doing?”

For he had tears streaming down his face and looked terrified, one hand clutching the hem of his shirt and the other reaching up to tug Bella’s.

“It’s Miffy,” He said, and Lars accidentally cut his own finger as his head whirled around to look down at Eliot, “What?”

“Well, he was in my way, and I sort of tried to nudge him away, but he suddenly flew up in the air and landed on the roof,” Eliot’s tears were flowing faster, “And….I don’t know why he did…! But I tried to get him down and-”

But Eliot was crying too hard to finish his sentence and gripped the hem of Lars’s shirt tightly, positively wailing. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Lars let Eliot lead him outside to where Miffy lay, legs bent crookedly, still breathing, but writhing on the ground in pain. Looking extremely upset, eyes wet and foggy with tears, Eliot buried his face into Lars’s stomach and sobbed that he was sorry. Bella turned away and ran inside.

Gently detaching himself from his brother, Lars gingerly picked up Miffy and held him,  suddenly feeling extremely lost. Not knowing how to comfort either his rabbit or his brother, Lars cradled Miffy in one arm while awkwardly wrapping his other one around Eliot’s shoulder. His sobbing ceasing slightly, Eliot hugged Lars around the middle while stammering that he was sorry.

Bella came out of the house with their mother in tow, and she gave the rabbit a weary look before taking him from Lars.

“It’s alright,” She said soothingly to both Eliot and Lars, who didn’t realize that his eyes were very wet, “I can fix him, and then he won’t hurt anymore, okay?”

This only made Eliot cry harder, but Lars hurriedly wiped his face with his sleeve.

Though Miffy was healed, the rest of the Eliot’s birthday was spent with a rather miserable feeling to it, as Eliot spent most of the time crying and keeping his arms around Lars’s waist.

Finally, after they all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and ate cake, their father suggested that they all get to bed.

* * *

 

Eliot was crying when both Lars and Bella boarded the Hogwarts express, though out of happiness this time and much less harder than he had on his birthday.

“Bye!” He said, waving cheerfully as his brother and sister waved back from the window. As soon as the train pulled away from the station, Bella turned to Lars.

“Can I sit with you? I don’t know anybody here,” While she had seemed excited all day, her voice suddenly sounded nervous. Lars nodded, and she grasped his hand, and together they made their way down the train, looking for the emptiest compartment they could. About halfway, however, a weight suddenly slammed into him and he was knocked to the ground.

“LARS!” A familiar voice laughed in his ear, and he was face-to-face with his best friend, Vlad Popescu,  and standing behind him were his other friends, Nikolaj Petrov and Lukas Bondevik.

“Vlad, I can’t breathe,” Lars gasped out, and Vlad scrambled to his feet, suddenly looking very embarrassed.

“Sorry,” He apologized, and Nikolaj gave a slight snicker as he helped Lars to his feet. With a jolt, Lars realized that he had grown a couple of inches taller than Nikolaj over the summer, whilst last year they had been roughly the same height. Smiling at the darker-haired boy, he turned to Lukas and they shook hands.

“This is Bella,” Lars said after saying hello to all of them, “My sister.”

“Aww! She’s so cute,” Vlad said, smiling at her. She was already Vlad’s height.

“I’m not cute, I’m scary,” Bella said, and Lars suppressed a smile.

“Want to find a compartment with us?” Lukas offered to Lars, and he shrugged one shoulder half-heartedly. The five of them walked down the train, looking for an empty compartment, but most of them were full. They reached one about halfway that already had four people, and Lukas gave a sigh.

“This is probably the best we’re going to get,” He mumbled, and pushed the door open.

Inside sat two Ravenclaws and a familiar Gryffindor; Matthias, whom Lars recognized from last year. They were all blond and fair-skinned, though one boy was slighter while the other two were built.

“Oiiiii, Lukaaaasss!” Matthias said cheerfully, crossing the room and lifting Lukas up by his waist, “You are still sooooo short!”

“Put me down,” Lukas said coolly, and it was only after giving a light a frown did Matthias do so. Brushing imaginary dust off his robes, Lukas turned to Lars, Nikolaj, and the rest, pointing at each person as he introduced them.

“That’s Tino, he’s in Ravenclaw third year. Berwald and Matthias are both fourth year, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively. You already know Matthias and Tino, Chaser and Seeker, but Berwald is one of the top students in his year.” Lukas said, before turning his back to them and introducing the others.

“Nikolaj is my friend, he’s trying out for Hufflepuff Chaser this year, Vlad, he’s really weird, Lars, he’s also kind of weird but not as weird, and Bella, Lars’s sister.”

“Hello,” Chorused everyone in the compartment, and they all took seats. Lars was awkwardly sandwiched between Matthias and Bella, who had already struck up a conversation with Tino about Quidditch.

“Hello,” Matthias said after a few minutes of silence, “I didn’t ever really introduce myself to you last year, but I’m Matthias!”

“I know you,” Lars said quietly, “But as, ‘annoying Dane’, ‘the bane of my existence’, ‘stupid idiot’, and my favorite, ‘Danish sausage munching Lego.’”

“Lukas is not kind to me,” Matthias laughed, eyeing the smaller boy affectionately, before returning his attention to Lars--specifically, his hair.

“It’s kinda floppy, man, don’t you ever, like, comb it or something?” Matthias asked as he took a few strands of Lars’s hair and brushed it to the side to get a clearer look of Lars’s face.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Couldn’t be bothered. And besides, your hair looks like a pineapple.”

“A fucking delicious one, though.”

Lars’s hands instantly jumped to cover Bella’s ears, but Bella, who was immersed in her conversation with Quidditch, did not hear Matthias’s language, but was startled by the sudden movement.

“Brother, what is it?”

“Nothing,” Lars said, embarrassed, and withdrew his hands, curling his fingers into his palm. Well, that was stupid.

Matthias, who a moment before had seemed mildly concerned, now smiled. He turned his back on Lars and unzipped his suitcase, tossing aside a pair of rainbow striped underwear and his Quidditch gloves before extracting a bottle of hair gel.

“Here, have you ever considered gelling it? So it’s not, like….Covering up your face and shit.”

Lars’s hands made a funny spasming, prepared to jump to Bella’s ears, but she, once again, was in the middle of a conversation. Lars shook his head as Matthias shoved the bottle of gel into his hands, a grin on the Dane’s face.

“I thought you said your hair was natural,” Lukas said coolly from the other side of the compartment.

“It is. But I gotta use a fuckton to keep it _down_ ,” Matthias explained pointedly. Lars examined the bottle of gel cautiously, imagining himself with his hair gelled up instead of flopping down into his eyes. It had been a problem last year, and who knew how long until his next haircut? Matthias took the gel from him and said,

“You want me to do your hair?”

Lars gave a small shrug. Feeling incredibly awkward, he felt Matthias’s fingers, slicked and cool with gel, run through his hair, fluffing it up and gelling the front and sides. The hair on the back of Lars’s head wasn’t as long as the front, so he only had to do minimum gel there. Finally, Matthias stopped and examined Lars.

Bella had stopped talking to Tino and was watching him with interest. Vlad and Nikolaj stopped talking, and then Vlad said,

“Whoa, dude.”

Lars reached up to touch his hair, his head, for some reason, feeling a lot less heavier than before. Matthias grinned and pressed the hair gel into his hands, eyes bright.

“Yeah, you’re gonna need a lot of this, my friend.”

* * *

 

Matthias was friendly, but loud. Lars, who had become accustomed to this last year with Vlad, didn’t have much to complain about, though it was frankly a bit annoying when the Dane kept placing his hands on Lars’s shoulders. He was intimidatingly tall, though Lars was pleased to see that himself had grown a good inch taller than Nikolaj, whom last year had been the tallest of the four of them. Bella was first in the Sorting, so Lars’s mounting anticipation didn’t last very long, but he still gave a long sigh of relief when the hat declared her Hufflepuff almost as soon as it touched her head.

Vlad clapped with him, and the Sorting seemed to pass in a blur. Bella was in his House, and that’s all he could ask for, really. Hopefully, Eliot would be placed as well.

That night in the common room seemed immensely more enjoyable than his first night at Hogwarts a year ago, and he noted with satisfaction that already Bella was talking to two girls and was smiling, a sign she had just discovered new friends.

Monday morning dashed away the satisfaction.

“The dungeons,” Vlad tittered as he pulled on his socks; it took Lars two minutes to realize had had put his tie on backwards and was attempting to put his sock on his hand. “The dungeons is where we’re spending our first morning back. It’s going to suck.”

“Cheer up,” Lars said crossly, throwing a sock at his friend, before turning to the mirror. He had placed the bottle of hair gel on the bedside table, but hadn’t spiked his hair today. Besides, it still stuck up a bit in the front from yesterday.

Herbology was still Lars’s favorite subject, and he nearly grinned when he saw Professor Longbottom open the door, smiling widely. The very first plant they were being assigned to were the Mandrakes, which screamed when you unpotted them. In the end, the Herbology lesson wasn’t as quite enjoyable as he had imagined it would be, because despite the fact that he wore earmuffs, his ears rung from the noise.

“I’d rather not go to lunch,” Vlad whined, rubbing at his ears, which were extremely sensitive, “I don’t think I’d be able to handle the noise. My ears hurt.”

“I could…” Lars trailed off, not sure what he was going to say, before Vlad grinned at home.

“Would you?”

“I…” Lars blinked, before nodding, and Vlad trailed away to sit outside the Great Hall. Lars himself entered and made way for the Hufflepuff table. The Herbology class had been let out rather early, so only a few dozen students were in here at the moment. Piling potatoes and two large pieces of chicken onto a golden plate, Lars carried it outside the hall, thankful that there were currently only three teachers in there and all were occupied. He wasn’t sure he was allowed to take food or the plates outside of it.

“Thanks,” Vlad said, before swiping the plate from Lars and scarfing it down. When Vlad finished, he belched loudly and set the plate aside. Lars stared at him, before getting up and getting himself his own plate, foolish to think that Vlad would share.

Back inside the Great Hall, Lars picked himself up another plate, and began piling potatoes and carrots onto it. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around, raising an eyebrow.

“Hi!” Matthias said cheerfully, far too cheerfully for the first day back, because while Lars loved Hogwarts he just wasn’t feeling it right now, “Nice to see your hair is still spiky!”

“It looks weird,” Lars said, subconsciously raising a hand and touching it.

“You should spike all your hair up, though, not just that one part,” Matthias said, cocking his head to the side and squinting at Lars, “Are you gonna hang out with Norge today?”

“I--What?”

“Lukas.”

“I--” Lars began, but Matthias grinned and shook his head.

“Doesn’t matter, does it? I’ll find him in my own time.” He lightly poked Lars, “Best friend magnetic attraction, y’know!”

Lars stared blankly at Matthias before turning away. He didn’t know how to handle this guy.

* * *

Unfortunately for Lars, just like last year with Vlad, Matthias somehow managed to squeeze himself into Lars’s life. A ‘hey!’ in the corridors, the occasional grin across the Great Hall, and even once a demand that he (along with Lukas) come watch him for the first Quidditch match against Slytherin.

Lars and Lukas agreed to go, but only begrudgingly. Besides, they would have gone away since Nikolaj made the team, and Vlad was constantly trying to pressure them into going, demanding that they see ‘the greatest Chaser, ever, in his rise to fame’.

So Lars spent that cold Saturday afternoon in the midst of a screaming crowd, the rest of the Hufflepuffs half divided between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and tried to keep track of what the heck was going on. Lukas followed Matthias’s every movement as he passed the Quaffle back and forth, and once, Matthias even rolled in mid air and flashed a grin in their direction, though it was hard to tell if it was aimed towards them because a Bludger came rocketing towards him at that moment and he had to dive.

Nikolaj looked terrified. He was playing decently, having made three goals (but unfortunately, dropping one) but even from this distance it was evident he was chewing on his bottom lip so hard there was blood.

The fourth time Nikolaj made a goal, Vlad screamed and grabbed Lars’s arm roughly. It still hurt afterwards as Slytherin celebrated their win, with a disappointed Matthias trudging along behind  Vlad and Lars with Lukas trying to comfort him in his own way (which involved ‘cheer up, you idiot’.)

* * *

 

Lars didn’t see much of Bella, but a week before December, he found out why.

“Always breakin’ into the  shack on the Quidditch field after dinner,” Said the Hufflepuff team captain, a tall and rough-looking sixth year, who was currently the Seeker, “I let her use the broomsticks to practice.”

“Is she any good?” Lars asked hopefully, because although he wasn’t much a fan of Quidditch, he knew how much Bella wanted to be Beater and needed to know if she was doing well.

The captain shrugged her shoulders, before saying, “Ask the Carriedos, they’re always watching her.”

After dinner that night, Lars told Vlad he’d catch up to him later (“You better, because Snape gave us a foot essay on the Drought of Living Death and I expect you to let me copy yours”) and Lars stalked down to the Quidditch pitch, knowing he only had about half an hour before he should get back to the common room or the ancient caretaker, Filch, would have his skin.

The Quidditch pitch looked dark in the fading light, and Lars could see Bella dipping and swerving  around, while Alfonso and Antonio took turns  throwing the Quaffle at her. She repeatedly hit the ball back, and missed only twice the entire time Lars watched her.

The brothers didn’t notice Lars, nor did Bella, but he was glad for that, because he didn’t want any questions to be asked, and returned to the common room with only minutes to spare and found Vlad waiting for him with a roll of parchment and his quill ready, looking at him expectantly.

The next morning, on Saturday, Lars approached his sister, who was looking right at home near the fireplace.

“How’s school?” He asked, and she smiled up at him.

“It’s great, brother,” She said cheerfully, “It’s everything I expected it to be and even more than that!”

The two wrote Eliot a letter together, but Bella was the one who raced up to the Owlery to deliver it.

* * *

 

Second year didn’t seem as exciting as the first year, because Lars already felt like he knew everything in the castle, all the secrets it held, though this was definitely far from the truth. At half past one the first Sunday of December, he found himself inside a room he’d never seen before. He’d been frantically racing around, looking for the bathroom, because darn it, he didn’t remember where any of the ones on this floor were.

He’d stumbled upon the room by accident, and was amazed to find it was, in fact, a bathroom. It was strangely modern-day, like the one at home, with only a single toilet and a bottle of soap that looked just like the one his mother loved.

He didn’t find the bathroom again after that.

“I didn’t imagine it,” Lars insisted as he and Nikolaj wandered the hallways together. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs had the same Potions class this year. Vlad himself had raced off to the bathroom.

“I’m not saying you did,” Nikolaj said gravely, though his eyes said otherwise, “I’m just saying I’m not believing it.”

“Of course you wouldn't, but you’d believe that Vlad has seen an actual vampire before.”

“Because vampires are a thing. Magical, vanishing bathrooms don’t.”

“You literally go to a school full of magic and you can’t believe in a vanishing toilet?” A voice asked behind them, and Lars glanced behind to see Ivan Braginsky staring at Nikolaj incredulously.

“N-no, of course not,” Nikolaj stuttered. Ivan raised an eyebrow before smiling at Lars, who suddenly felt the strange urge to run.

“That’s happened to me too,” Ivan said cheerfully, “But it was a library, not a bathroom.”

“A library?” Lars echoed, “Like, a whole entire library?”

“Da, but it was very small, and had only the books I needed for my paper,” Ivan said, but didn’t say anymore, because Professor Snape opened the dungeon door and everybody immediately stopped talking.

Vlad was late for class (again) and got twenty points knocked from Hufflepuff (again), and by then, Lars had considered what he was going to ask him. As soon as Vlad sat down, Lars asked,

“Do you want to go exploring?”

Vlad stared at him, and over his shoulder Lars saw Nikolaj roll his eyes and his Slytherin friend perk up in their seat, clearly having overheard him.

“I’m just asking,” Lars lowered his voice, “Because y’know that bathroom I told you about? It got me thinking that there’s a lot more in this school than we know.”

“Well, duh,” Vlad said.

Before they could discuss the matter any further, Professor Snape snapped that they had the rest of the class period to try and create a cure for hiccups, and the two boys got to work instantly.

* * *

 

Christmas was a cheery affair, and even Lars’s mother was smiling tiredly, and Antonio and Alfonso’s mother didn’t snap at them too much.

“Haven’t seen much of you this year,” Alfonso said to Lars as they ate dinner, “I’m missin’ ya, pal.”

Lars gave a shrug, and nervously ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up a bit. His mother had marvelled the fact that she could see his face more clearly now that his hair wasn’t flopping into it, and his father remarked that his hair looked less like a mop and more like a broom. Lars was suddenly glad he forgot to get them presents this year.

“Maybe you and Bella could watch Antonio and I fly!” Alfonso suggested, and Antonio looked over at the mention of his name. “We’ve been flying every Saturday and Sunday, all day, whenever a team isn’t practicing.”

“Why are you flying so much?” Bella asked from beside Antonio. He opened his mouth to answer, but Alfonso beat him to it.

“Because Antonio didn’t make the team, third year in a row, and I suck at flying, and I want to try for Chaser next year.”

“Maybe we can be on the team together,” Bella said earnestly.

“I want to be on the team, too!” Eliot spoke suddenly, before leaning in and whispering in a hushed, secretive voice, “I’ve been sneakin’ out every night and practicin’! I’ve gotten _so_ much better!”

“You probably shouldn’t do that,” Antonio said, though much louder than Eliot, “It’s probably dangerous.”

“You and Antonio and Lars did it all the time,” Eliot shot back, “I’m bigger, I’ve grown a full inch, haven’t you noticed? I’m goin’ to Hogwarts next year. I can do things you can do too.”

“You’re still pretty small,” Alfonso teased, and Eliot pouted, before puffing his chest.

“I want to be Chaser or Seeker, don’t care which,” He said, a hint of pride in his voice, “I’ve gotten better, I really have. Will you watch me after dinner?”

And because nobody could say no to that face, they said yes.

* * *

 

That night, Lars found himself in the bush again, though this time it was just because he missed the area. He only sat there, kneading the frozen ground with his knuckles, inhaling the scent of the Earth. His thoughts felt clear and his lungs appreciated the fresh air. Being inside the castle all day didn’t feel right. He wished more lessons would be held outside.

It was at this moment, through the baring branches, that Lars noticed a shape walking down from the Carriedo’s house. It was definitely Antonio, because he couldn’t see the telltale ponytail, and he was a bit taller than Alfonso.

“Hola,” Antonio said, grinning. Lars gave a small wave. He didn’t know why, but he’s always liked Alfonso more than Antonio. Antonio just seemed...Much more happier and brighter than Alfonso, which got on Lars’s nerves sometimes. At least Vlad knew when to be solemn.

There was still room for them both, though Lars questioned whether he, Antonio, and Alfonso could all sit comfortably here now. Antonio was much taller than he’d been four years ago, and now it was mostly Alfonso, Lars, and his siblings visiting the bus. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Antonio had sat here together, alone.

Antonio had his wand in hand, though Lars didn’t know why, because it was against the law to use magic outside of school. He’d been lectured by his mother many times, even before he attended Hogwarts, that it was a serious violation of the law. His father always asked, ‘but what if it’s an emergency?’

“Use it only for when it’s an emergency,” She always said, “When you’re in danger and I’m not here.”

His father had always looked a little upset by this, as if the comment had suggested he couldn’t protect his children as well, but Lars’s mother had moved on to the conversation about ‘no telling Muggles, that’s also a violation of the law’.

Lars wondered if all parents in the Ministry of Magic were like that.

“Do you remember yours?” Lars was suddenly yanked from Memory Lane by Antonio’s voice.

“Mine, what?” Lars asked stupidly, and Antonio held up his wand. Lars blinked for a moment, before saying slowly,

“Yes. Willow and unicorn hair. Twelve and three quarter inches…..Surprisingly bendy.”

“Spruce, unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, whippy,” Antonio recited happily, “I repeated it to myself over and over again the first day I got it, and I can tell you Alfonso’s too.”

“Bella and I did the same, too,” Lars said, and awkwardly drew his knees up to his chest, “And I bet Eliot will too.”

“Hm,” Antonio hummed thoughtfully, and because Lars didn’t know what to say anymore, he crawled out from the space, bade him good night, and went back to bed, but not before repeating _spruce, unicorn hair, eight and a half inches_ , _whippy_ to himself several times.

* * *

 

The sixth Quidditch match of the season was Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, and tensions were high between the two houses. It was the last match before the Quidditch final, and whoever won this match would play Slytherin in the final. Tino the third year Ravenclaw friend of Lukas and Matthias’s was sent to the hospital wing after the Hufflepuff Keeper tried to hex him, and the Hufflepuff Keeper herself was also sent to the hospital because Tino had managed to jinx her back before the horn erupted from his forehead.

“Just glad that Tino got to her before Berwald did,” Lukas was saying one studying session after Vlad and Nikolaj both gave up on their Potions assignments and Lars was struggling to figure out how to end his, “That would have been nasty. I mean, Tino’s as good a jinxer as it gets, but Berwald’s a beast in Transfiguration. He could’ve turned her into a moose or something.”

“Isn’t human Transfiguration not till fifth year?” Vlad asked, frowning, “As you so delightfully told me last year when I wanted to Transfigure my teeth to something more normal?”

“You’re a Muggleborn, don’t you have denteeths?” Nikolaj asked.

“They’re dentists, Nikolaj. Maybe you should take Muggle Studies next year.”

“Ha, as if.”

The second years had received a notice on their House boards the first week of February stating they needed to consider their electives for their third year, and that they needed to be turned in to their head of House by the end of April. Vlad had already chosen his (Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, and Ancient Runes) but Lars was still deciding. He’d considered Arithmancy, but he heard Lukas complaining about Matthias taking the subject and constantly asking for his help, so he decided he probably shouldn’t. He knew he definitely wanted to take Care of Magical Creatures, but what else should he take?

“Divination and Ancient Runes is all I need,” Nikolaj said, “I mean, I would’ve done Arithmancy, but all I hear is Lukas bitching about it.”

“Don’t take it,” Lukas advised, “And I don’t bitch about anything.”

“You were bitching about Matthias constantly giving you the wrong kind of chocolate. And the fact that your brother wanted to be a Gryffindor.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Dude, my dorm is directly across from yours, I hear everything you do. Poor Lewis Darcy and Harri Kirkland.”

“Kirkland?” Lars asked, “As in, Arthur Kirkland?”

“Yeah, all his siblings have been in Slytherin. Rhys was in seventh year last year, but now Cameron is in sixth year and Arthur is fourth year. Harri and Maeve are twins,” Nikolaj explained, “Arthur’s a funny guy.”

“Got any jokes from him?”

“Funny as in mad.”

“Oh.”

* * *

 

Bella and Lars received the news three days before Easter break.

It came in the form of an unnaturally grave-looking Professor Longbottom, who approached them both before they could enter the common room after returning from Bella’s ‘practice’ (Lars had participated with the Carriedos in throwing balls at her). Professor Longbottom asked them to come with him to Dumbledore’s office, so, perplexed, they followed him.

Dumbledore’s office was circular and strange, but Lars didn’t marvel at it, for he was wondering why the headmaster needed he and Bella both. Had they done something wrong? Was Bella not supposed to be flying by herself? Bella had said she had checked with Professor Longbottom if it was okay to fly with the brooms from the shed, and he had said yes, so what was this about?

“I have news,” Professor Longbottom said, and Dumbledore, gave Lars and Bella sad looks. The Herbology teacher fidgeted, looking a bit uncomfortable, before saying,

“It’s about your brother, Eliot.”

Lars felt his insides turn into ice.

“Dumbledore has given you permission to go home for Easter early,” Professor Longbottom said, speaking more to the rug than Lars and Bella’s faces, “So you’re going to travel by Floo to St. Mungo’s.”

“Why?” Bella asked, and Lars’s knees felt weak. The Wizarding hospital. Lars had been to two different hospitals before, Muggle and Wizarding, and both occasions had been to see a relative on their deathbed. Lars did not have happy memories associated with hospitals.

Professor Longbottom met their eyes at last, before saying in a quiet voice,

“Your brother has been attacked by a werewolf.”

* * *

 

Lars blamed himself.

No matter how many times Eliot said that it wasn’t his fault, he knew it was.

He had set a bad example, sneaking out of night, and if he had never done so, then Eliot wouldn’t have done it either and gotten himself into this whole mess. Hadn’t they told him he shouldn’t be sneaking out in the dead of the night?

But now, Eliot’s face, pale and framed by lank dirty blond hair, scars visible on his neck. Scars that started at his throat and ended above his bellybutton, the bite on his shoulder standing out against his skin. The bandages had been enchanted to stop the bleeding, but it was clear it would take a very, very long time for the scars to heal, if they ever did, at all.

What Lars hated even more than the fact that he had allowed this to happen, was the fact that the Healers had treated Eliot with either pity or caution, as if fearing he would suddenly lunge at them even though he was little Eliot, harmless Eliot from Luxembourg, who made Bella waffles sometimes and wanted to be everything his siblings were.

He wouldn’t be able to have a normal life, no matter what the Head Healer had described in that friendly, quiet voice of his. Lars knew from History of Magic (or, what little he paid attention to) that werewolves had never been treated as equals in history, and it was only recently after the Second War did they finally become more accepted into Wizarding society, but even now, many regarded them with caution, and it was still difficult to get a job.

“We can brew him the Wolfsbane potion for every full moon,” The Healer had assured their parents, “And he’ll be a harmless pup.”

Eliot was already harmless, Lars had wanted to shout, but he didn’t, because he thought if he opened his mouth to speak he’d cry instead.

Easter was a very solemn occasion, and Eliot hardly spoke at all. Bella acted cheerfully, but Lars knew she was just as upset as he was.

* * *

 

Lars told only Vlad of Eliot’s situation, and had fully expected Vlad to treat him with the sympathy the Healers had.

Instead--

“Well, it won’t be too bad. Wolfsbane potion and all that. Maybe I’ll talk to him about my cousin Marco next year to him,” Vlad said thoughtfully, “He got bit, too, and his brother Lovino--you know, the third year?-- almost got bit. Feliciano is attending next year, too.”

“You’re taking this surprisingly well,” Lars murmured. Vlad gave a shrug before leaning forward and braiding Eliza Nerumi’s hair, which had become somewhat of a habit during History of Magic. Eliza had no idea how to braid hair and Vlad did. The very first time he did it, Lars had thought Eliza would hex him, but she had shrugged and since then, it had become a regular thing.

“Being a werewolf is more common than you think,” Vlad explained, “I’ve got a cousin who’s one and a family friend is also one. Besides, attacks are more common in northern Britain, because that’s where two of the main gangs are. I live in northern Britain, remember?”

“I didn’t know that,” Lars said as he scanned his notes (which was about two sentences long and the parchment was mostly taken up by multiple games of one-sided tic-tac-toe), “about the gangs, I mean.”

“You can’t live in northern Britain without knowing about it,” Vlad said with another shrug. Eliza shifted in her sleep, having nodded off ten minutes ago, and Vlad also shifted. The rest of the lesson passed normally, without another mention of Eliot, but that was all Lars thought about, and he knew he ought to be doing a better job of discouraging Eliot from following his example.

* * *

 

Slytherin won, but Tino caught the Snitch.

This was repeated in incredulous whispers all around the school, and it was all Nikolaj could talk about for an entire week. The Quidditch final had been brutal, three hundred and ten to two hundred and ninety, and had gone on for more than two hours. Nikolaj happily talked about the fact that he had scored nearly a third of those goals, and also said that the Ravenclaw Keeper’s skill wasn’t anything compared to the Slytherin’s, and wondered how Ravenclaw had even gotten as many goals in as they did.

Lars was really just sick and tired of all this Quidditch talk, but if Nikolaj was on the team next year too, and if Antonio, Alfonso, or Bella made it, he knew he’d never escape it.  Not to mention Matthias, who constantly bugged Lars in the hallway. (“Did you see me in Gryffindor v Ravenclaw? I totally kicked their butts, right? Right?”)

“Anyways, so I think you should finally meet Berwald and Tino,” Matthias told Lars after they managed to have a lengthy conversation about Gobstones (Lars didn’t know how, seeing as he’d only played them once and didn’t care much for it), “I mean, you already sort of met them, but not really. You didn't talk to them. I tell them a lot about you. I talk about them much too, huh??”

“Not really,” Lars answered, “All you do is talk about how radical you are. Who even says radical anymore?”

“I do,” Matthias said, before smiling, “You must think I’m radical too, because you’ve definitely been using that hair gel I gave you.”

Lars had almost forgotten about this. It had become daily routine to slick his hair up, and though it wasn’t that neat (it was nearly as crazy as the Dane’s) it did it’s job in keeping his hair out of his eyes. Though, it was getting harder to slick his hair up, because he had totally forgotten to ask his parents for a haircut and now his hair was beginning to brush his shoulders if he let it down.

“I do it only because it’s convenient.”

“Suuure. Nah, you love me!” Matthias wrapped an arm around Lars’s shoulders excitedly, and Lars found himself (not the for the first time) how he had ended up with a friend like this.

So, Lars did meet Berwald and Tino, at the library. Matthias and Lukas were there, and Lukas kept giving Lars sideways glances, but he didn’t know why.

“Hi, I’m Tino Väinämöinen,” The shorter blond Ravenclaw boy said excitedly, and his name had way too many vowels and no way was Lars going to even attempt pronouncing it.

“Lars Anderssen,” He said, and Tino beamed, before glancing at the taller blond boy beside him. He was in fourth year, but was very burly, even more so than Matthias.

“‘M Berwald,” He mumbled, before holding out his hand, “Nice t’ meet ya.”

Lars felt extremely awkward (and slightly intimidated) by Berwald and Tino, so he resolved to just sliding into the seat next to Lukas.

“Don’t you have a brother, Lars?” Matthias suddenly asked. Lars frowned at the question before mumbling something along the lines of ‘yeah i think so.’ Very smart, Lars. Very smart.

“How old is he?”

“He’ll be eleven this June,” Lars said, and Tino smiled.

“Emil will be eleven this June too, right?” He asked Lukas, and Lukas gave a nod, but also shrugged. It was a mixed response that Tino took as a ‘yes’, because he grinned and said,

“Maybe they’ll become friends when they start next year! That’d be great!”

Berwald mumbled something that might’ve been agreement. Lars couldn’t read this guy. Matthias gave an excited yelp and began talking about how he would definitely embarrass the shit out of both of them.

They sat there for a few more minutes, before Lars excused himself and walked back to the common room. They were nice, sure, but anymore questions about his life and he’d crack like an egg. He bumped in Bella just as she was leaving, and quirked an eyebrow.

“Where are you going?”

“Basch Zwingli and I sort of help each other with our Potions homework,” Bella gave a shrug, “And it’s amusing to watch him and Roderich fight.”

“Aren’t they Ravenclaws?”

“Yeah, but they’re alright for Ravenclaws. Why can’t we just get along?”

“Because Ravenclaws think we’re stupid.”

“Oh, whatever. Bye, brother, I have some cat fighting to witness.”

* * *

 

Exams passed by with lots of Vlad angrily throwing his books at things, Nikolaj breaking down in the middle of Potions, Lukas accidentally turning his right eyebrow brown due to nerves the day before, and Lars throwing up all over Miffy.

“The teachers are pressing us this year,” Vlad muttered darkly as he glared blearily at his Charms book, “They’re hinting that this going to be really hard. I barely passed my pre-exam. Barely.”

“I know, right?” Nikolaj mumbled in agreement, eating a Chocolate Frog and glancing up every now and then to make sure the withering old librarian, Madam Pince, wasn’t breathing down their necks. “They were a bit hard last year, but it seems this year they increased the hardness level by, like, fifty percent.”

“If this is second year, imagine O.W.L,” Lars said. The four boys shuddered. It did seem like the teachers were pressing more and more topics onto the second years as the exam week drew closer, and since this was the last night of studying they’d be able to get before the exams started, the library was full of second and third years. The fifth and seventh years wouldn’t be taking their exams until the week after next, and until then, the library was mostly occupied by the first, second, and third years.

“If I fail these exams, I’m letting you guys know,” Vlad curled up in his chair, sliding the book away from him, “I love you guys.”

“I love you too, man,” Lars said, sliding his own book away from him. It collided with Vlad’s and they both skidded towards Lukas, who sleepily poked them with his quill.

“Awww, don’t look so down!” A voice Lars had gotten used to hearing said, and Matthias appeared from nowhere. He did this a lot, and Lars stopped questioning it weeks ago. He still did almost get a heart attack every time Matthias jumped him when he walked out of the bathroom, though.

“We’re supposed to be looking down, it’s exam week,” Lukas said, scowling at Matthias’s happy demeanor.

“Not for fourth years it ain’t. I still got a whole week before I die. And you guys need to do something fun, or you’re going to die before the exams even start.”

“I died ages ago,” Nikolaj croaked dramatically, and Vlad gave a half-hearted giggle. Matthias shook his head and sank down into the last unoccupied seat at the library table (the sixth chair had been stolen by a third year who wanted to see how many items he could balance on it) and watched the four with sympathy.

“Second year exams always seemed really hard,” Matthias explained, “Don’t know why, they just seemed harder than third year exams.”

“Third year exams will be hard,” Lars mumbled. There was a murmur of agreement not just from his tablemates, but from another table of third years. This proved Lars’s point and only made him feel more tired.

Matthias soon gave up on trying to cheer them up and instead, walked away to get revenge on Tino for turning all his ink white.

* * *

 

Exam week was hell for everyone, and it wasn’t until the fifth and seventh years finished theirs did everybody in the castle truly relax.

“I think I should join a club,” Vlad told Lars as the two sat underneath the shade of a tree, Vlad laying on the ground and staring at the periwinkle blue sky, “Keep myself occupied. No offense, but you’re boring sometimes, Lars.”

“None taken.”

Alfonso and Antonio sat a few feet away, taking turns sending their shoes flying at helpless first years who screamed and raced away every time they did so. Lars wasn’t sure whether to berate them or laugh, so he just settled on telling them to not actually hit the kids with their shoes.

“Don’t suck the fun out of everything, Lars,” Alfonso pouted, but there was still a good-natured twinkle in his eyes, “It’s not a good quality to have.”

“Shut up,” Lars shot at the teen. Alfonso grinned cheekily before scooting close to him, glancing at Vlad, who had fallen asleep with his arms and legs spread eagle-style and drooling onto the grass.

“I seriously miss you, though,” The Portuguese teen said in a serious voice, “We used to be, like, best friends, and now...Well, you’ve barely talked to me.”

“We’re in two different years,” Lars pointed out. Alfonso rolled his eyes before saying,

“Well, I don’t care. I’m definitely going to be making an effort this summer and next year, and I expect you to do it too.”

“Whatever.”

Alfonso winked at him, but the playful expression on his face quickly vanished as he saw Professor McGonagall purposely strolling towards them, gaze set on Alfonso.

“ _Porra_ ,” He cursed, “Well, I’m going to dash before Professor McGonagall asks why I haven’t turned in a single piece of homework for four weeks. Later!” 

* * *

 

The train ride home was eventful and involved a shouting match, Lars’s hair turning pink again (seriously, did everybody just have a thing for turning his hair pink?) and a heated debate between Berwald and Lukas about vampire rights. All in all, it was eventful enough to keep Lars from worrying about Eliot too much, who would be starting Hogwarts in three months as a werewolf. He hoped nobody would figure out the fact that he was one, or there’d be hell to pay. Lars had found out the day before by asking, that many of his fellow second years had lost someone to a werewolf, and Ivan Braginsky bitterly told him his grandfather had been lost to Fenrir Greyback during the Second War.

Lars wondered if even his friends would hate Eliot for being a werewolf.

“Why you lookin’ so sad?” Matthias asked, sliding into the seat next to Lars, as Vlad had just gotten up to go to the bathroom, “Don’t worry, you’ll see me next year.”

“It’s not that,” Lars said, rolling his eyes, “It’s just...My brother…”

“Ah, it’s okay,” Matthias nodded, “You’re worried about him starting school. Everything’s gonna be fine, trust me! I’ll treat him _and_ Emil like they were my own brothers!”

“Wow,” Lars mumbled, “I feel so much better.”

“You should, because I’m lovable, baby.”

“Yeah. Whatever you tell yourself to sleep, Matthias,” Lukas said from across the two. Matthias grinned before reaching into his trunk and extracting two bottles of gel, pressing them into Lars’s hands.

“Here, these are my last two,” Matthias told Lars when he gave him a questioning look, “They should hold you out ‘till school starts again. Try the style on Elias!”

“Eliot.”

“Same difference! I’ll give you more when you come back. What subjects are you taking again?”

“Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination,” Vlad’s voice said from the compartment door, “Everything I’m taking.”

“And I decided I’m taking Muggle Studies after all,” Nikolaj mumbled.

“I made him,” Vlad looked proud of this fact.

When the train pulled into the station, Lars and Bella searched for their parents as Bella told her new friends, Natalya Arlovskaya, Elizabeta Héderváry, Feliks Łukasiewicz, Roderich Edelstein, Basch Zwingli, and Toris Lorinaitis good-bye. Lars only knew all their names because that was the only thing Bella talked about the entire ride back. Apparently, they were a ‘group’. Of what, Lars didn’t exactly know.

Eliot was smiling at them, though it looked a little forced, and Lars suddenly wished he could see the future and be able to see what everyone would think of his brother next year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riddikusly long chapter is riddikulus. Haha Im so clever notreally
> 
> Honestly I feel like I've made Lars's character too bland but its four a.m, i'm out of coffee and it's exams week yay
> 
> here is ur chapter
> 
> feedback is appreciated
> 
> ty

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is appreciated and it is my inspiration. Idk where this idea came from. It was like an impulse thing. but sometimes impulses are good. So if you have the impulse to comment, whether positively or negatively, that's gr8. Do it. Pls.


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